Archive for the 'GBIC' Category

As an organization chiefly concerned with aiding in economic development for Chittenden Country, GBIC often speaks with Vermont employers to figure out what helped encourage them to set up their business in our state. Our goal is that if we can find a common denominator to support, it will encourage other potential employers and entrepreneurs to choose to do the same. Yet after hearing of the many positives that make Vermont a great choice, what often comes out is that choosing to do business in Vermont sometimes is in part a decision made with the heart and not with the head (or at least not without rationalizing with your accountant). Every employer understands the cost environment in which they are establishing their business when the decision is made to take the risk of opening their doors. However, as Vermont continues to increase both real taxation rates and new areas of taxation, there is growing concern that little seems to be done to encourage the expansion of Vermont’s tax base, rather than simply drawing more from the same wells.

What is abundantly clear is many Vermont entrepreneurs and employers have such a genuine love for Vermont that initially deters them from seeking locations outside of our borders. The problem, as has been seen with some of the most successful Vermont companies, is that with success comes the pressure for further growth; boards, shareholders and continued competitive strains (that may or may not have ties to our state) force some traditionally Vermont based employers to move aspects of their operations to states or countries with more advantageous tax policies and structures. Competitiveness out-places love of place.

Vermont’s answer has tended to focus on asking more from the same pools of employers. The situation is analogous to sugaring: either extract more from the same trees, or establish an environment in which more saplings can thrive, be tapped and foster the growth of future forests. If you unsustainably overtap the productive trees, eventually they will die; in the case of our successful entrepreneurs, they just pick up their roots and move to Florida and/or other places that aggressively seek investment and job growth.

With the challenge of the aging demographics that our state faces, it would seem to be a prudent moment in time to examine how we can encourage entrepreneurial Vermonters (both native and who come to our expansive college and university system) to stay in the state and generate employment. If we are unable to accomplish this goal, a shrinking tax base will be forced to shoulder the weight of increased state expenditure. No one wants to see a decrease in meaningful and supportive public expenditure, but relying on the same sources for revenue will only lead to a more dramatic budget challenge in the long run. This unsustainable approach to income generation for the state, coupled with other increased cost burdens shouldered by our employers (health care, unemployment insurance etc), will surely force the hands of some Vermonters to move their businesses, and the people they employ, out of Vermont.

The Blue Ribbon Tax Commission has begun its work to look at Vermont’s tax structure and our overall competitiveness. GBIC and LCRCC have organized business people and Vermont entrepreneurs to meet with the Commission and share some concerns and ideas about how to retain our quality of place while we seek to be a place where entrepreneurs can be globally competitive.

Vermont, like much of the country, is at a crossroads.  While the economic conflict that has engulfed many of the world’s economies seems to be ending and the painful process of rebuilding has begun, the need for actively preparing and delivering on actions to further our state has never been more fundamental to success.  At a time when planning appears to be the most difficult and divisive due to conflicts of theory and philosophy, it also holds the potential to unify and galvanize Vermonters’ needs and interests.  Recognizing this potential, GBIC has drafted “Common Ground,” a paper that examines areas of agreement between two of the most valuable and current reports in support of a unified economic plan.  Our hope is that Common Ground can be a part of the conversation that moves comprehensive economic planning in our state forward in a meaningful way.

The first report driving the content of Common Ground began its life at the state level; in 2006 the Vermont legislature set about defining a process for the development of an economic plan, and the Commission on the Future of Economic Development was formed.  With a public outreach process as the backbone of their research, the CFED condensed input from employers, stakeholders and public participants into a series of benchmarks and goals for analysis and action from state economists and legislators.

Nearly concurrently, in late 2007 the Vermont Council on Rural Development came to the realization that Vermonters were expressing concern about a lack of vision on a statewide level and proceeded to construct the Council on the Future of Vermont.  Charged with synthesizing the vision of what Vermont is and should be from the eyes of Vermonters, the CFV ultimately created both a vision for Vermont and a comprehensive analysis of who we are right now (“Vermont in Transition”).

GBIC has long been a proponent for the development of an economic plan that is definitive in its direction without being overbearing in its recommendations; independent in formation yet based on broad public input; measureable in success, but avoids setting goals without a means to reach them.  To this end, we have set about examining these two papers to find the clearest areas of overlap between leadership and public demand.  Rather than assessing the validity of individual recommendations, Common Ground identifies those areas of agreement between these reports; finding the areas where economic reality most clearly aligns with the vision Vermonters see as necessary to maintain the core values of our state.

For too long, we have lacked a successful unified and forward thinking economic vision and, as such, have come up short in developing a comprehensive economic plan. Part of the reason for this stems from disagreement between leaders and stakeholders. Common Ground seeks to avoid those areas of conflict by presenting the unified interests of these two reports.  By focusing not on solving disagreement, but by moving forward through areas of agreement, this document can act as a vital step in moving towards a valid, comprehensive and unified economic plan.

The Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation ~ GBIC is a non-profit economic development corporation serving Chittenden County, Vermont. GBIC was incorporated by 50 municipal officials, civic leaders from the Greater Burlington area and by an Act of the Vermont Legislature in 1954.

Since its founding, GBIC has served as a catalyst for economic opportunity in Chittenden County, assisting in the creation and retention of sustainable jobs and economic opportunities for thousands of Vermonters in the value-added industry sectors.